January - 2020

HINDSIGHT IS 20/20

When former Rep. David Trott (R-Birmingham) first ran for Congress for Michigan’s 11th District (Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Troy, western Oakland and Wayne counties), he leaned pretty far right. He was an early supporter of candidate Donald Trump for president, and for many years had donated untold thousands of dollars to the party and a few GOP hopefuls. Four years later, as he exited Congress in 2018, he was disillusioned with both the president and politics. Now, back a

HINDSIGHT IS 20/20

ROCK PAPER SCISSORS

Brenda Lawrence While none of us will know the results until after the 2020 decennial census is complete and Michigan’s Independent Redistricting Commission determines our state’s new congressional, state Senate and House districts, it’s a sure thing that Michigan will lose one Congressional district, and therefore one Electoral College vote. As Politico recently noted, the U.S. population continues to shift south and west, and Michigan is projected, along with New York, Cali

ROCK PAPER SCISSORS

NOT SO FINE

Rudy Hobbs When searching for deputy executives for Oakland County, new executive Dave Coulter (D) said a priority was finding the best and most qualified team surrounding him to help him lead the county. Imagine the surprise then when we discovered that Oakland County Deputy Executive Rudy Hobbs (D-Southfield) left the Michigan House of Representatives nearly five years ago, but is still paying off nearly $10,000 in campaign finance fines he accrued as a lawmaker. While Hobb

NOT SO FINE

IN THIS CORNER

Oakland County Executive David Coulter (D), appointed in August to fill the position after the demise of the late L. Brooks Patterson, has raised more than $216,571 since announcing his campaign to keep the position in October. Coulter spent about $16,200 to end the final quarter of 2019 with $200,627. However, he had a bit of a snafu – it was discovered he hadn’t paid his home’s $558 water bill for over a year, until another publication pointed it out, and it was promptly pa

OOPS

Speaking of county exec Coulter, his campaign was able to skirt a campaign finance violation following a complaint that his campaign had improperly used the Oakland County seal on its official Facebook page, pleading ignorance. The complaint, filed by Bloomfield Hills Democratic Party delegate Martha Szilagyi, noted that the page included the seal on a statement saying, “My administration is about inclusion, collaboration and giving Oakland County residents a voice in the fut

NO ORDINARY JOE

Joe Kent While Republican plunges into county government campaigns have been sparse so far for 2020, Joe Kent of Lake Orion is one who has taken the dive, for Oakland County Treasurer. So far, it looks like Kent, a tax accountant, will face off against state Rep. Robert Wittenberg (D-Huntington Woods) in November, unless either have an opponent jump in before late April. Kent, who has never held public office, has run for office before – in 2018, he unsuccessfully ran against

NO ORDINARY JOE

BULLSEYE

A 2020 target for state Democrats, as well as Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) and House Minority Leader Christine Greig (D-Farmington Hills), is to flip control of the state House of Representatives from Republican control to the Democrats. Currently, Republicans hold a 58-52 majority in the chamber. Looks like they might be getting a helping hand from a progressive political group called Swing Left, which was created after the election of President Donald Trump (R). Swing Left

WHO’S ON FIRST?

With state Rep. Robert Wittenberg (D-Huntington Woods, Ferndale, Oak Park, Hazel Park, Berkley) termed out of his 27th District seat and having announced he’s running for county treasurer, and Dave Coulter, who last June had announced he would jump from Ferndale mayor to the state House, now ensconced as the county exec with plans to run again for a full term, it appears there will be at least four Democrats candidates and one Republican vying for this district’s heavily-Demo

SNEAK PEEK

Although state and federal campaign finance statements for the final quarter of 2019 aren’t due until the end of January, some candidates have offered a sneak peek into their fundraising efforts. Rep. Mari Manoogian (D-Birmingham, Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills and eastern part of West Bloomfield) informed Oakland Confidential that she raised about $40,000 in the fourth quarter of 2019, bringing in more than $90,000 for the election cycle. Her competitor, Birmingham Re

SNEAK PEEK

GREEN IS THE COLOR

Paul Junge As with the state, federal campaign finance statements aren’t due until the end of January. Still, Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) has already announced she has raised $1.27 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. The efforts bring her total cash on hand to about $2.8 million – quite a daunting total for any potential challenger, of which Republican Paul Junge, a former Lansing TV anchor, announced he has raised $250,000 for the quarter. Of the overall $3.3 m

GREEN IS THE COLOR

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